


Chickens and Eggs

by Wonderlandleighleigh



Series: A Yolk of a Different Color [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: AU, F/M, Gen, Happy Skywalkers, Leave me with my trash, Self Indulgent Garbage, a little torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:47:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22411990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wonderlandleighleigh/pseuds/Wonderlandleighleigh
Summary: The Skywalker twins are born before Sheev Palpetine can finish his manipulation of Anakin. Things go a little differently.
Relationships: Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Series: A Yolk of a Different Color [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1625359
Comments: 22
Kudos: 245





	Chickens and Eggs

**Author's Note:**

> As the tags say, this is completely self indulgent garbage. This Anakin is definitely closer to the Clone Wars characterization than the movies...

It turns out that becoming a parent changes everything.

Everything he thought he knew about his life and the universe and the Force goes flying out the window when faced with the tiny little lights in front of him. 

Luke with his almost too-bright Force presence, and Leia with her determined one. Both nudge at his mind, as if vying for his attention. 

“No, don’t do that,” he laughs softly. “You both have me.” 

He soothes them through the Force, comforting them as he reaches down with both hands, his flesh-and-blood fingers stroking Leia’s head while his mech hand strokes Luke’s. 

Behind him, he can hear Padme yawn and senses that she’s still mostly asleep, rolling over to get more comfortable.

And though there’s still a war to fight and hiding all of this from the Jedi Order is now completely and utterly hopeless, and the Chancellor is waiting for him…

Anakin Skywalker, for the first time in his life, feels content. 

***** 

He reports to the Chancellor about Obi-Wan engaging Grievous, and suddenly Anakin finds himself in a conversation he hadn’t expected. 

Sheev Palpetine starts talking about studying the Dark Side. It’s power and history, and that only paying attention to one aspect in the Force will not get Anakin where he wants to be. 

But where Anakin Skywalker would like to be at this very moment is at home, changing diapers and singing lullabies. 

And he blinks as his vision goes blurry as the older man keeps talking. Somewhere in the back of his head, he can hear an odd, rhaspy sort of breathing that sends a chill down his spine. 

“While your point of view is appreciated, Chancellor, I’m afraid I must decline your offer,” he says. “It isn’t my path.” 

“My boy,” Palpetine persists. “Of course it is. You’ve so much potential. So much strength-” 

“You’re very kind to say so,” Anakin cuts him off. “And while I’m not altogether thrilled at the Council’s actions, it’s an issue I’m confident I can handle without resorting to drastic measures.”

After all, the Council aren’t the only ones hiding things. 

Palpetine stares at him with a look Anakin doesn’t remember ever seeing; a mix of anger and disappointment he doesn’t quite understand. 

There’s a resignation after that. 

“Very well,” Palpetine sighs. “Then I suppose I’m just going to have to end your life.” 

Anakin isn’t prepared for the Force lightning spitting out of the Chancellor’s hands. 

It knocks him to the floor, curled in on himself, the pain excruciating. 

He’s in good shape, but he’s also spent the last handful of days helping to care for two infants with no thought to his own health, and the years before that fighting a war. He’s been living on two hours of sleep a night and military rations for too long, and even the Force can’t hold back the seizure that hits him as Palpetine doesn’t let up; ramps up the attack tenfold, and Anakin feels his heart constrict as he sends out a plea through the Force for help. 

_“Obi-Wan...Ahsoka...please…”_

Just as everything starts to go black, Anakin wonders if his children will remember him.

***** 

_“How could any of you let this happen?!”_

_“Know, we did not, of the Chancellor’s true nature.”_

_“Nobody knew, Ashoka.”_

_“And Anakin paid the price, Obi-Wan! He was nearly killed! He may still die!”_

_“Calm, we must be, for Skywalker’s sake.”_

He blinks slowly, and looks around the medical bay in a daze. He doesn’t know how long it’s been or where, exactly, he is, but he knows those three voices very well. 

Ahsoka, Obi-Wan and Yoda are blurry images in front of him, their voices a little muffled. He closes his eyes, trying to keep calm, letting his mind sink into the Force; letting it wrap around him and sooth him back into oblivion. 

*****  
“Ani.” 

Obi-Wan’s voice slides through the darkness of his healing trance, and it takes him some time to push back through and open his eyes. 

Obi-Wan looks as if he’s aged a year or two, the worry on his face evident as he sets next to Anakin. 

“You’ve had us all very worried,” Obi-Wan says, managing a smile. “And you’ve missed quite a lot.” 

Anakin swallows and tries to sit up, but Obi-Wan’s hand on his shoulder stops him. 

“You’re still healing,” he explains.

Anakin gives him a confused look, sending through the Force _Then why in the Force did you wake me up?_

Obi-Wan grins sheepishly; even a little ashamed. “I just...wanted to see for myself that you’re still with us.” 

_What happened to me?_

His grin fades. “The Chancellor...the Chancellor attacked you. He is a Sith.” 

_Yeah, I picked up on that when he tried to convince me to turn to the Dark Side._

“And you...you resisted?” Obi-Wan asks, bewildered. 

_...Ouch, Master._

“The Coucil has been aware of your anger issues for a long time,” Obi-Wan admits. “They’ve always feared your potential for the Dark Side.” 

_Well, it’s not really an option._

“Good to hear you say it.”

_I know the Chancellor attacked me. I felt...it felt..._

“The electrocution caused a seizure,” Obi-Wan explains. “And then triggered a heart attack. The doctors had to operate and add some machinery to keep you alive.” 

_How did I even survive?_

“Master Windu heard your cries for help through the Force. He did not have time to save your life and go after Palpetine. He chose to get you medical attention.” 

_Then I guess I owe him one._

Obi-Wan nods. “A lot has happened since you’ve been here.” 

Anakin sighs inwardly. _Let me guess: there’s a planet-wide manhunt for the Chancellor, the Senate is in shambles, the war is still raging, the Jedi Council is having a nervous breakdown and everybody’s discovered mine and Padme’s marriage and children?_

“Your former padawan nearly slugged Master Tiin in the face.” 

_Snips is here?_

“She came as soon as she heard what had happened to you,” Obi-Wan tells him. “You and your attachments.” 

_I know. I’ve failed at letting go. But I can’t find it in my heart...my now part-mech heart...to regret it. Have you seen the twins yet?_

“No, I have not. Padme won’t let anyone from the Order near her children,” Obi-Wan says awkwardly. “She refuses to let us see them until you’re up and about again.” 

_You know it’s funny. Everybody thinks I’m the dangerous one in our relationship…_

Pain begins to trickle through, now, and Anakin lets his eyes drift shut again, trying to stave it off. 

“Go back to your trance, Anakin,” Obi-Wan orders. “You need to heal.” 

*****  
They let him go home eventually, after weeks in medical, and he’s supposed to stay off his feet, which Anakin has always, always been terrible at. 

But it helps that there are two helpless infants that need him. Padme is busy with a senate in chaos, while fighting still rages on Mandalore, and the Jedi Order hunts for Palpetine, and while Anakin feels the itch to join them…

He looks at the tiny little lives that need him, and all those thoughts fly out the window. He’s also deeply aware that Palpetine may come after him again, or the twins, and if he’s around all the time, he can keep them safe. 

Because to hell with the Order and the Council and power and immortality. All that matters to Anakin now is making certain Luke and Leia are safe and happy. 

He’s still healing; still going into trances when he has the time to keep getting better. He still hobbles a little; still needs a cain sometimes to help him get around. But his hands are steady, and his mind is sharp.

If Palpetine and his loyalists show up, he’ll be ready. 

*****  
He finds out that they show the security footage from the Chancellor’s office to the whole Senate; that Padme had to watch as he nearly died and it makes Anakin feel ill. 

“It was important for everyone to see,” Padme tells him, but there’s a quiver in her voice over the comms that night. She’s staying the night at the senate. There is much to do, and the senators is wild with outrage and confusion. “They needed to see for themselves. So many didn’t believe it at first.” 

It’s hard for Anakin, knowing that all those people saw him laid so low. But he knows that Padme is right. 

***** 

The twins themselves are a joy, and Ahsoka comes over all the time, obviously to check in on Anakin, but also to spend time with Luke and Leia. 

“I hear you’re thinking about rejoining the order,” Anakin comments. 

“Only because they’ve been making noise about reform,” Ahsoka snaps as she cuddles Luke in her arms. “But to be honest, they’re driving me nuts. They say they want change, but then they get stuck in all of the old ways…” 

Anakin listens as he cradles Leia in his arms. He has no idea if he’s still in the Order if they threw him out while he was in his trance in medical. 

He’s broken so many rules. His attachments are out of control now. He considered the Dark Side as an option for a fraction of a second when he worried that Padme would die in childbirth. Unknowingly fraternized with a Sith Lord… 

“The Council wants to speak with you, you know,” Ahsoka tells him. 

It dawns on Anakin now, and only now, that he’s sitting with his former padawan and his children, that Palpetine and the Jedi Council both wanted to use him; wanted to be their weapon. 

None of the Jedi, other than Obi-Wan, have come calling. He remembers hearing Yoda at his bedside with Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, but there’s been no word since. 

He hesitates before he responds to Ahsoka. “I’m sure they do.” 

“But you don’t want to,” Ahsoka surmises softly. 

“I wonder,” Anakin says slowly. “I wonder if they only ever saw me as their sword. And not...a flesh and blood human.” 

Ahsoka looks at him sadly, rocking Luke gently. “I think...we’ve been fighting a war for so long, that the Council forgets the difference sometimes.” 

***** 

It takes another week for Anakin to find the strength, both physically and emotionally, to go to the temple. He leaves the twins with Rex (who is far too happy to babysit. He adores the twins, even though they’re too young to roughhouse with him. “Soon enough, General,” Rex had said.), and walks in, taking a deep breath to center himself.

And he’s right to prepare himself, because the Council is relentless in their questioning. 

He stands (still with his cain. He can only get about an hour of trance-time at a time and it’s a slow process), and answers succinctly. 

“Skywalker,” Mace Windu says slowly. “When Palpetine offered you power...offered you the Dark Side...why did you turn him down?” 

“Why wouldn’t he turn him down?” Obi-Wan asks, a little bewildered. “Anakin is no Sith. He is...has always been one of us.” 

“But tempted, has he been,” Yoda tells them. “Felt it, have I.” 

Windu looks at Anakin again. “Please, answer the question.” 

Anakin swallows, gazing at all of them. “My children need me. Going to the Dark Side…” he shakes his head, thinking back on that day; on that raspy breathing he’d heard. “It’s not worth leaving them.” 

The Council goes silent, then, all looking at each other; all except for Obi-Wan, who gazes at Anakin. 

“Lied to us, you did,” Yoda says, finally. “Your vows, have you broken.” 

“Yes, Master Yoda,” Anakin nods. 

“Something to say of this, do you have?” 

Anakin swallows and gazes at the wizened old master. “I don’t regret what I’ve done. I know that I’ve betrayed the Order’s ways. But I love my wife and children. If I didn’t have them...maybe I would have been more easily swayed to the Dark Side.” 

“Thank you for your time, Skywalker,” Plo Koon nods to him. “We have much to discuss.” 

“Actually, I have a few questions of my own,” Anakin says. “If the Council would allow it.” 

Ki-Adi-Mundi narrows his eyes. “Proceed.” 

“Now that the war is coming to an end,” Anakin says slowly. “And I am no longer fit for battle, if the Council allows me to stay with the Order, what role would I play?” 

Everyone goes silent, no one quite knowing what to say, and Anakin feels his shoulders slump. 

“Anakin has a point,” Obi-Wan says firmly. “He has only ever been a Jedi Knight during wartime. He is not a battle droid to be decommissioned. He is one of us.” 

“Remains to be decided, that does,” Yoda says quickly. “Many decisions do we have.” 

“But if Anakin is permitted to stay, in what capacity would that be?” Obi-Wan presses. “And what would my capacity be? All Anakin and I have done for years is move from one battle to the next. What happens now?” 

Anakin can feel the irritation radiating off of Obi-Wan.

It’s clear, from the uncomfortable silence around them, that no one has given any thought to what happens when the war ends. 

Because no one expected to win. 

***** 

When he gets home, Obi-Wan in tow, it’s to find Padme laying on the rug, still in one of her very fancy senate outfits, with a baby on either side of her. 

Rex is napping, snoring softly on the couch, while Ahsoka is softly banging around the kitchen, obviously making dinner, trailed around by R2. 

Padme beams up at him. “Hi.” 

Anakin settles down on the rug with her, sitting cross-legged and lifting Luke into his arms, resting the baby against his chest. “Everything okay here?” 

“Mhm,” she tells him. “Ahsoka has promised sandwiches, Rex is definitely our resident baby-whisperer, and you’ve brought Obi-Wan home for dinner with you.” 

“He was feeling a little stressed out by the rest of the Council,” Anakin explains as he watches Obi-Wan sit on the floor on Padme’s other side. “And he hasn’t had much of a chance to see the babies yet.” 

Padme sits up and lifts Leia, depositing her safely in Obi-Wan’s arms. “Well, then let’s make up for some lost time.” 

Obi-Wan looks a little at a loss as he holds Leia, but his face clears as he gazes down at her, understanding and a little dread in his eyes. 

“What’s wrong?” Padme asks, tilting her head. 

Anakin watches them, and chuckles. “Oh.” 

Obi-Wan glowers at him. 

“What?” Padme prods. “Come on. I’m not Force sensitive. Tell me.” 

Anakin smirks. “Obi-Wan has found his next Padawan.” 

Ahsoka gives one short, loud “HA!” that wakes Rex up with a snort.

“What’d I miss?” he asks, blinking at them all. 

Anakin laughs softly and lays down, stroking Luke’s back and gazing at the ceiling.

Tomorrow would come soon enough. The next day, the next day and the next. 

He feels Luke’s tiny fingers grip his collar, and he smiles. 

END


End file.
